Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the amount of microplastics in tap water.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published two research projects on microplastics in drinking water – one in January 2019 reviewing the potential risks from nanoparticles and microplastics and another in October 2022 looking at the removal of microplastics by drinking water treatment processes.
The research by the DWI found that more than 99.99% of microplastic particles were removed through conventional drinking water treatment processes. As a consequence of the removal rates, microplastics were present at very low levels in drinking water. Their contribution to total daily exposure, and presenting a potential risk to human health, was likely to be low or insignificant. The World Health Organization has also recommended that routine monitoring of microplastics in drinking water was not necessary at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the reduction of methane in the cattle sector.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Achieving the net zero target is a priority for the Government. The Net Zero Growth Plan and Environmental Improvement Plan set out a range of specific commitments to further reduce emissions from agriculture. To deliver towards these we are developing a range of measures through the Agriculture Act and our farming policy, all with the aim of enabling farmers to optimise sustainable food production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
Defra considers that Methane Suppressing Feed Products (MSFPs) are an essential tool to decarbonise the agriculture sector. In England, our objective is to establish a mature market for these products, encourage uptake and mandate the use of MSFPs in appropriate cattle systems as soon as feasibly possible and no later than 2030. We are committed to working with farmers and industry to achieve this goal, and in early March will convene the inaugural meeting of a Ministerial-led industry taskforce on MSFPs.
In 2023, Defra launched the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grants in England, offering £74 million to farmers to improve their slurry stores. As a condition of the grant, farmers are required to cover slurry stores with impermeable covers to minimise ammonia and methane emissions. The grant can also be used for projects which aid methane recovery (the grant does not fund the methane recovery element itself).
The Environment Agency has published a corresponding regulatory position statement (RPS 259, copy attached), which sets out a clear regulatory framework to allow methane capture from slurry under suitable circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support pig breeders in the UK.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The British pig sector is highly resilient and plays a significant role in the production of high quality pork meat. It operates in an open market and the value of commodities is established by those in the supply chain.
Defra continues to support the pig sector through a range of measures. Outdoor pig breeders may now apply to the Sustainable Farming Incentive and may access free business planning advice from independent advisers through the Farming Resilience Fund which is open until March 2025. They are also eligible to apply for our productivity and innovation grants via the Farming Investment Fund. This includes the £200 million that is available to support livestock farmers to manage slurry through the Slurry Infrastructure grant and the Farm Equipment & Technology Fund. Following feedback from the pig sector, we increased the storage capacity that pig farmers can apply for in Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant from six to eight months’ covered storage capacity.
Pig breeders are also eligible to apply for support through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. This includes access to bespoke health and welfare advice through a fully funded vet visit and, as announced at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference earlier this month, imminent access to a second round of grants toward the cost of 59 equipment and technology items supporting improvement in the health and welfare of pigs.
At the NFU conference, the Prime Minister confirmed we will introduce a regulatory framework for contracts with producers in the pig sector later this year, following the supply chain fairness review of the UK pig supply chain that was undertaken in 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support UK farmers to increase the production of wheat, barley, oats, and other cereals.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our fantastic British farmers are world-leaders and carefully plan their planting to suit the weather, their soil type, and their long-term agronomic strategy.
It is not Government policy to determine which crops farmers should prioritise to include in their crop rotation, but we will continue to support farmers, so they can make the right decisions for them and the productivity of their land.
At the NFU conference, the Government announced a range of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the farming sector, including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million. This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, the Water Management grant, the adding Value grant. Lastly the Farming Equipment and Technology fund can fund productivity items from a specified list of equipment, including eligible drills, fertiliser applicators, and grain dryers, which is due to open in the coming weeks.
Defra’s Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) on Wheat, Oilseed Rape and Pulses crops aim to improve the main UK crops by identifying genetic traits to improve their productivity, sustainability and resilience. Across the GINs we have already successfully identified genetic traits that have improved resilience to climate change and common pests and diseases, and we are working with breeders to incorporate these traits into elite UK crop varieties.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their latest assessment of the agriculture industry’s ability to attract skilled staff.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to domestic workers in the United Kingdom through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology. Defra is working closely with industry and across the Government to make sure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce.
In 2022, the Government commissioned an independent review of labour shortages in the food supply chain. It considered how automation, domestic labour and migrant labour can contribute to tackling labour shortages, following a survey of businesses across the food chain and a series of round-table meetings. The report was published on 30 June 2023. The government is considering the 10 recommendations from the report and will respond shortly.
Enabling an innovative, productive and competitive food and farming industry which invests in its people and skills to drive growth is a key priority for the Government. Attracting bright new talent into agricultural and horticultural careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming. By raising awareness of agriculture as an exciting and attractive career path, people will understand the opportunities available to them in the farming and land management industry.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many users of plant protection products have registered under the Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
To date we have 21,682 users registered under the Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations 2020.
The number is increasing in response to recent communication. We are considering how we can further increase uptake through engagement with industry assurance schemes.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address fly-tipping in rural areas.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We appreciate the difficulty that fly-tipping poses to landowners. We are working with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land.
As part of the Government’s commitment to unleash rural opportunity, we are currently funding a post within the new National Rural Crime Unit to explore how the police’s role in tacking fly-tipping can be optimised, with a focus on rural areas.
Across two rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme, we have awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots, including in rural areas, such as by installing CCTV. We are currently reviewing applications for a third round of grants, which could see a further £1m handed out in the spring to help even more councils tackle the issue.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support the bee population.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Recovering nature is a priority for this Government, which is why we have set legally binding targets to halt and then reverse the decline in species abundance, reduce the risk of species extinction and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats. Action under the Environmental Improvement Plan to deliver our biodiversity targets will address key pressures impacting pollinators including habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, use of some pesticides, climate change and land use intensification.
Our 2014 National Pollinator Strategy sets out a 10-year plan to help pollinators survive and thrive. It delivers action across four themes: strengthening evidence; restoring habitats and species; sustaining pollinator health; and engaging wider society. A Defra-led working group is considering future priorities for pollinators beyond 2024.
Agri-environment schemes are a key mechanism for recovering bees and other pollinators, in particular through the ‘Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package’. Between 2014 and 2019, an estimated 30,000ha of bee-friendly habitat was delivered through this scheme.
We have also collaborated with research institutes and volunteer organisations to set up the Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership to improve our understanding of pollinators and pollination services, and raised the profile of pollinators through our annual Bees’ Needs Week, which raises awareness of key actions we can all take to protect pollinators. Bees’ Needs Week 2024 will run from 8-14 July.
Defra supports the honey bee population specifically through the work of the National Bee Unit inspectorate, which operates our bee pest surveillance programmes and provides free training and advice to beekeepers, including on pest and disease recognition. While bee health is a devolved matter, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on bee health and, in 2020, we jointly published the Healthy Bees Plan 2030 (copy attached).
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the health of the bee population in the UK.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The bee population is comprised of wild bees, of which there are more than 250 species in the UK, and honey bee colonies managed by beekeepers and bee farmers.
Defra’s indicator of the status of pollinating insects was last published in December 2022. Within this wider indicator, the wild bee index fluctuates around its initial value over much of the time series, and in 2019 (the latest year for which we have published data) it was estimated to be 2% higher than in 1980. However, a larger proportion of bee species have declined than increased over the long term (33% declined and 22% increased), as well as over the short term, (37% declined and 28% increased).
The wider pollinating insect indicator identifies changes in the distribution of wild bees and hoverflies in the UK and shows an overall decrease from 1987 onwards. In 2019 the indicator had declined by 21% compared to its value in 1980 and 6% compared to its value in 2014.
Protecting pollinators such as bees, and halting their decline, is a priority, and we are taking action to support them and the wider natural environment of which they are a vital component. Our legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 underlines our ambition. The Government is working alongside many partners to implement the provisions in the National Pollinator Strategy. The Strategy sets out how Government, conservation groups, farmers, beekeepers and researchers can work together to improve the status of wild and managed pollinating insect species in England on farmland, in urban areas and in gardens. Additionally, our Pollinator Action Plan for 2021-2024 sets out more specifically how we will continue to act to fulfil the vision, aims and objectives of the strategy.
Our annual Hive Count exercise indicates that numbers of managed honey bees have increased in recent years, from around 252,000 UK colonies in 2017 to 288,000 in 2022. Defra supports the honey bee population through the work of the National Bee Unit inspectorate, which operates our bee pest surveillance programmes and provides free training and advice to beekeepers, including on pest and disease recognition. Bee health is a devolved matter. However, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on bee health and, in 2020, we jointly published the Healthy Bees Plan 2030. The Welsh Government also funds the National Bee Unit to deliver a bee health programme in Wales.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) maximise food production in the UK, and (2) enhance food security.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.
Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 61% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years.
The Government committed to broadly maintain current levels of domestic food production in its Food Strategy, which also set out what we will do to create a more prosperous agri-food sector.
We have taken several steps to support the long-term resilience and profitability of the agricultural sector. For example, we are making Direct Payments in England in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period, to help farmers with their cashflow; we are committed to spend around £600 million on grants and other support for farmers to invest in productivity, animal health and welfare, innovation over three years; and we have provided 10,000 farmers with help and advice through the Future Farming Resilience Fund, which provides farmers with free advice to help farmers work out what to do for their business.
Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. It recognises the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience and considers the UK's food supply sources overall, noting that domestic production and diversity of supply are both important to our food security. The next Food Security Report will be published in 2024.